Matchmaker

Seven hours. Seven hours in the car. That’s how long it took to get to Edinburgh. A ride filled with jokes and laughter, music and head banging. It was 5 in the evening by the time we got there.

“Wow…” I breathed out when I stepped out of the car for the first time. Craigmillar Castle. It was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

“You love it!” Morgan said, hugging me tightly. I fixed my gaze on the monstrous structure in front of me, smiling.

“It’s beautiful. This is the best present ever. Thank you!” I said, hugging her back.

“C’mon, you two. Let’s get this party started,” Dan said, holding a picnic basket in his hand, a blanket thrown over his shoulder. I must admit, seeing Harry Potter with a picnic basket was a pretty funny sight.

Dan and Morgan took the lead and Rupert and I trailed behind. He had his arm wrapped around my shoulders.

“This is honestly where you wanted to go for your birthday?” he asked, smiling. I nodded.

“Yes! Look at this place! It was built in the 1400’s… it’s an architectural masterpiece. It’s beautiful. I’ve always been in love with it,” I said, still gazing at the castle.

“You can come here any time, you know,” he said. I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah. I have an apartment in the city,” he said.

“Do you have apartments everywhere?” I asked. He shrugged, chuckling.

“Just London, Edinburgh, and New York City,” he said. I rolled me eyes, giggling.

“Well, I’ll make it a point to come up here more often,” I said. He pulled me into a half-hug while we walked.

“That reminds me, mate, I meant to ask you. Can we possibly stay the night at that apartment of yours?” Dan smirked, turning to look at us.

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Rupert replied. I shot a glare at Morgan, who caught it and smirked. She now had Dan in on this whole “match maker” thing. Fantastic.

We reached the castle and sat in the outer yard. The place was generally deserted, which surprised me a bit. Either way, Dan set out the blanket and while the boys set the food out, I pulled Morgan aside.

“I don’t have any clothes,” I said. She rolled her eyes.

“I’m ashamed of you, Elettra. You act as if I haven’t had this planned for weeks! I grabbed some of your stuff. It’s in the trunk,” she said. I groaned.

“You’re honestly killing me, you know that?” I said.

“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, ‘you’ll thank me one day!’” she said. She dragged me by the arm back over to the boys. They had set up a pretty immaculate picnic. I was impressed.

“I wanna make a toast!” Morgan said, picking up her glass of wine. I sat between her and Rupert and picked up my wine glass, as did the boys. “A toast to my best friend. We met in diapers, and here we are; celebrating your 21st birthday at Craigmillar Castle with the stars from Harry Potter.” She paused to laugh. I sneaked a smile at Rupert, who returned the favor. “Anyway, I love you. You’re my sister and my other half. Happy birthday! Cheers!”

“Cheers!” we clinked out glasses together and took a swig.

***********************
Two hours and a bottle and a half of wine later, we decided to head back. (Don’t worry, Dan had only one glass, so he could drive. We’re not completely irresponsible.)

It only took us about 20 minutes to get to Rupert’s apartment in the city.

“I’m assuming you two will want the guest room to yourself, so here it is. Try not to stain the sheets,” Rupert said, unlocking and opening a door, letting Dan and Morgan walk through.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks,” Morgan said. She tossed me a bag and winked. Then the door was shut. I held my bag close to my body and looked at Rupert.

“I erm-… only have one spare room,” he said, biting his lip.

“I suppose I’ll be sleeping on the couch, then,” I said.

“On your birthday? I won’t have it. You’ll sleep in my room,” he said. My eyes widened slightly.

“Don’t worry, I have an air mattress to sleep on,” he said, chuckling. He led me into a room down the hall. It smelled just like him, making me smile. Wow.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Not a problem. I’ll let you get changed. I’ll be right back,” he said. I opened the bag that Morgan had packed for me. When I saw what was inside, I was ready to kill her. She found the smallest pair of pajamas she could find and packed them.

Regardless, I changed and let my hair flow down around my shoulders. Rupert walked back into the room with a mug in each hand. He stopped in the doorway and stared at me. I bit my lip.

“What?” I asked softly. He did his signature ‘Ron Weasley half-smile.’

“You look…” he didn’t finish his sentence. He just stared, smiling. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, blushing.

“Whatcha got there?” I asked, nodding to the mugs in his hands.

“Hot chocolate,” he said, setting the mugs on the end table. He reached over and clicked the table lamp off. The only light in the room was from the moon.

“Why’d you do that?” I asked. He looked in my eyes, smiling again.

“The moon… you just… you’re beautiful,” he said. I bit my lip, my eyes meeting his.

Beautiful.

He called me beautiful.